Food & DiningThe River Cities' Reader Online - Updated daily local media website and bi-weekly newspaper that covers the Arts, Business, Culture and Politics of the Quad Cities' area.http://www.rcreader.com/news-releases/food-a-dining/
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 18:50:40 +0000Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Managementen-gbTurn Your Balcony into an Edible Gardenhttp://www.rcreader.com/news-releases/turn-your-balcony-into-an-edible-garden/
http://www.rcreader.com/news-releases/turn-your-balcony-into-an-edible-garden/Improvements in container gardening equipment and techniques have cleared the way for even the most “brown thumb” city dwellers, and anyone without a yard, to grow their own groceries.

“There’s nothing to stop anyone who wants a garden from having one,” says Roy Joulus, CEO of Greenbo, www.greenbo.co, a company that designs award-winning innovative products for urban gardening including the new Greenbo XL flowerbox.

“Plants add a great deal to our quality of life – from cleaning the air we breathe to keeping us in touch with nature. Fresh, home-grown herbs and vegetables not only taste so much better than supermarket produce, they’re convenient, and you know exactly where they came from and what was used, or not used, on them.”

While hydroponic and vertical gardening systems have been developed to maximize the yield in small spaces, Joulus says starting a balcony garden needn’t cost much. Start with the right materials and choose plants that are right for your conditions, and you’ll soon be eating from the pots on your porch.

He offers these tips especially for balcony gardeners:

Plant the right plants for the amount of sunlight you have:

Most herbs and vegetables require six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. So what do you do if you have just one balcony and it doesn’t get that much sun?

• Choose edibles that can take partial sun/shade (three to six hours of sun in the morning or early afternoon) or light shade (two to three hours of direct sun or lightly shaded all day.)

• Remember, pale-colored surfaces increase the light your plants receive. Plants in regions with short growing seasons usually need the full six to eight hours of light per day.

Choose the right pots:

• Bigger pots require less water and are less likely to blow over on high-rise balconies where the winds can be fierce. Terra cotta allows moisture to escape fairly quickly, which is helpful for people who like to water a lot. Non-porous plastic or glazed pots hold water longer and are better for windy balconies, where soil dries out quickly. Use brightly colored containers to add style and visual interest to your garden.

• Most vegetable plants require even watering – don’t let them dry out completely and don’t keep them soggy. Apply water directly to the soil.

• Make sure your containers have drainage holes or a drainage system. If they have an attached tray to catch excess water, don’t allow the plants’ roots to sit in the water, which promotes rot and fungus. Either empty the tray regularly, or use a design that holds the water away from the roots.

Use the right dirt:

• It’s important to use dirt that allows for good drainage. Most edible plants don’t like to sit in wet dirt, and soil without good drainage tends to become compacted – a difficult medium for plants that like to stretch their roots out. You can buy a sterile soilless potting mix, a soil-based potting mix, or mix up your own batch using 1 part compost, 1 part perlite and 1 part potting soil.

• Don’t use garden soil or top soil, which won’t allow adequate drainage.

• On windy balconies, top-dress your container with small rocks to keep the soil from drying out so quickly.

Joulus offers one more tip for high-rise dwellers: Rely on self-pollinating plants, or plants that don’t need pollination by insects, unless you’re willing to hand-pollinate.

“You likely won’t see many bees buzzing around the 40th story,” he says.

Don’t worry about pollination for root vegetables, like carrots and potatoes. Some self-pollinators include beans, peas, tomatoes and peppers.

About Roy Joulus

Roy Joulus is CEO of Greenbo, which was founded in 2012 in Florida with a focus on simplicity, efficiency and innovation in creating urban agricultural products. Its Greenbo XL flowerbox, designed to hang securely on any balcony railing up to 6 inches wide, won the prestigious 2012 Red Dot Design Award. Greenbo products are manufactured in a multi-cultural Israeli-Arab setting using sustainable and recyclable materials, and with safety the No. 1 priority. Find Greenbo products at garden centers and independent nurseries in the United States and Europe, and online at amazon.com.

This Friday night, MRDC is kicking off their new rewards program. We invite anyone to become a part of “The Crew” and when they sign up with instantly start earning points with each purchase that can then be used for discounts on future purchases. To celebrate this new initiative, we’ll be giving away a free “Crew” pint glass that says “Inaugural Voyage June 7, 2013” during First Friday to everyone who purchases a bottle of MRDC spirits. More detailed information on “The Crew” rewards program will be coming out soon.

Mississippi River Distilling Company is open from 10 AM to 5 PM Monday through Saturday and from 12 to 5 PM Sundays. Free tours are offered to the public daily on the hour from 12 to 4 PM or by appointment. The tour takes visitors through the entire distilling process. Tours end in the Grand Tasting Room with free samples of products for those patrons over 21 years of age.

CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., parent company of Hardee’s® and Carl’s Jr.®, is offering understanding as well as continued, premium-quality Black Angus beef burgers to fast food fans feeling mcburned by McDonald’s’ recent discontinuation of their Angus Third Pounder burger line. Sympathizing with disgruntled McDonald’s diners, today CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder offers coupons and feedback to customers via personal video messages posted to the brands’ YouTube pages (www.youtube.com/carlsjr and www.youtube.com/hardees). In the video messages, Puzder guides Angus lovers through the premium burger competitive landscape and explains how Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s were the first and now only major fast food brands to offer 100 percent Black Angus beef.

"To burger fans who care about quality – I hear you,” said Puzder. “Our competitor has made a choice to drop its Angus burgers, but for customers focused on premium quality and taste, and not on less for less, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s welcome your grieving stomachs. We were the first to offer Black Angus in our Six Dollar Burger and Thickburger lines. Following McDonald’s’ decision, our bigger, better Black Angus burgers are not only the only Angus burgers available at any major fast food chain, but I can assure you that they are here to stay.”

In addition to Puzder’s video messages, the CKE CEO is reaching disappointed McDonald’s customers via a full-page USA Today ad and a limited-time offer to enjoy Carl’s Jr.’s and Hardee’s’ 100% Black Angus Six Dollar BurgerTM for less than McDonald’s’ axed Angus beef burger. The $1 off coupon is available for download at ReclaimYourAngus.com and comes with an implied virtual hug from Happy Star.

About CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.

CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif. As of the end of fiscal 2013, the Company, through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,318 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and 28 foreign countries and U.S. territories worldwide, including 1,369 Carl's Jr.® restaurants and 1,944 Hardee's® restaurants. For more information about CKE Restaurants, please visit www.ckr.com or its brand sites at www.carlsjr.com and www.hardees.com.

Davenport, Iowa – June 4, 2013 – Thunder Bay Restaurant today announced that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Only the top-performing 10 percent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

To qualify for a Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor, and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.

“Thunder Bay Restaurant is pleased to receive a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence,” Michael Whalen, Owner of Thunder Bay. “Our guests are the reason we do what we do – we strive to offer each guest a dining experience by offering innovative food combined with great customer service.”

Thunder Bay has been a Quad City favorite since it was opened in 1997. This is the second time Thunder Bay has won the Trip Advisor Award of Excellence. The restaurant’s cuisine is centered on an eclectic menu featuring steaks, seafood and Cajun entrees. Soft seating area is the perfect place to gather with friends or try our private dining option for a working lunch or intimate dinner . Thunder Bay has banquet facilities for up to 100 and caters to parties of any size. For more information visit www.thunderbaygrille.com

Thunder Bay is owned and operated by Heart of America Group, a Midwest based hospitality company founded by Michael Whalen in 1978.

There’s still space available for vendors to sign up! All you have to do is stop by the desk to fill out an application. The whole month of June is FREE for all vendors! July-September, vendor cost will be $5 for CASI Members & $10 for Non-Members.

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced in a new poll conducted by Lake Research Partners that 71 percent of Iowa voters are opposed to the slaughter of U.S. horses for human consumption, and that 76 percent do not want a horse slaughter plant in their community. The statewide survey reveals that Iowans overwhelmingly oppose horse slaughter regardless of their political affiliation, gender, geographic location or whether they live in a city, a suburb, a small town or a rural area.

In 2007, the few remaining slaughter plants in the U.S. closed their doors when Congress chose to suspend funding for any further meat inspections. However, in the 2012 budget, the language preventing horse slaughter inspections was not included, opening the door for a return of horse slaughter on American soil, despite broad opposition to the practice. Several applications have been filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture by companies that want to slaughter horses on American soil – including one in Sigourney, Iowa. If the application is approved, it would be the first facility in the U.S. to slaughter horses for human consumption since 2007.

“Iowa voters affirm what we learned in New Mexico and Missouri and what we discovered through national polls as well – an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that our horses deserve more than to be shuttled off to a gruesome death and served abroad as a toxic delicacy,” said Nancy Perry, senior vice president of ASPCA Government Relations. “With 71 percent of all registered voters in the state opposed to the slaughtering of American horses, opening a slaughterhouse in Iowa would be a tragic mistake, as voters have clearly stated that they would not support such a facility. Using precious tax dollars to enable the inhumane practice of horse slaughter on U.S. soil is irresponsible, and we urge legislators to take note and enact a permanent ban on horse slaughter.”

According to the new research, more than 7 in 10 Iowa registered voters are opposed to allowing American horses to be slaughtered for human consumption, with 54 percent in strong opposition to the practice, and only 15 percent approving of the practice. In addition, more than 3 in 4 Iowa voters do not want a horse slaughter plant in their community, with just 12 percent of voters supporting such a facility. Furthermore, opposition to a horse slaughtering facility extends across age, political affiliation, and geographic divides, including at least 69 percent opposed in every congressional district in the state, 84 percent of urban voters, 80 percent of suburban voters, 77 percent of small town, and 73 percent of rural voters disapproving of such a facility.

The surprising move toward a resumption of domestic horse slaughter comes in the wake of the recent scandal in the European Union, where consumers were alarmed by the discovery of horse meat mislabeled as beef in prepared food products ranging from lasagna to meatballs. Horses are routinely given medications and other substances that are toxic to humans and are expressly forbidden by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in animals intended for human consumption. In March, U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Reps. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., introduced the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (S. 541/H.R. 1094) to prevent the introduction of horse slaughter operations in the U.S., end the current export of American horses for slaughter abroad, and protect the public from consuming toxic horse meat.

Horse slaughter is inherently cruel and often erroneously compared to humane euthanasia. The methods used to slaughter horses rarely result in quick, painless deaths, as horses are difficult to stun and often remain conscious during their butchering and dismemberment. Whether slaughter occurs in the U.S. or abroad, these equines suffer incredible abuse even before they arrive at the slaughterhouse, often transported for more than 24 hours at a time without food, water or rest, and in dangerously overcrowded trailers where the animals are often seriously injured or even killed in transit. The majority of horses killed for human consumption are young, healthy animals who could go on to lead productive lives with loving owners. Last year, more than 160,000 American horses were sent to a cruel death by a grisly foreign industry that produces unsafe food for consumers.

About the ASPCA® Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is the first animal welfare organization in North America and serves as the nation’s leading voice for animals. More than two million supporters strong, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA is a national leader in the areas of anti-cruelty, community outreach and animal health services. For more information, please visit www.ASPCA.org, and be sure to follow the ASPCA on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Available now at all Hardee’s locations, the epic new burger includes a charbroiled beef patty, American cheese, mayonnaise, tomato, onion, lettuce and a super serving of bacon, with six full bacon strips woven together into a crispy bacon nest.

The commercial for the Super Bacon Cheeseburger, titled “Potholes,” features “Man of Steel” star Henry Cavill and was directed by the film’s director, Zack Snyder. It highlights the unsung, everyday heroes in Superman’s world, all of whom deserve a super-satisfying burger. Check out the ad, airing now, on Hardee’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVCJIEjQd6g]]>rick@rcreader.com (Angie Taylor)Food & DiningTue, 28 May 2013 20:13:33 +0000MODERN WOODMEN PARK WILL HOST FATHER’S DAY COOKOUThttp://www.rcreader.com/news-releases/modern-woodmen-park-will-host-fathers-day-cookout/
http://www.rcreader.com/news-releases/modern-woodmen-park-will-host-fathers-day-cookout/Families can enjoy pre-game on-field catch and a buffet on the Sky Deck at River Bandits' June 16 game

DAVENPORT, Iowa (MAY 22, 2013) – Families in the Quad Cities will have a unique way to celebrate Father's Day at Modern Woodmen Park on June 16, when the Quad Cities River Bandits host a pre-game catch in the outfield and their second annual Father's Day Cookout on the Sky Deck for the 5 p.m. Flat Screen Family Sunday game against the Burlington Bees.

The pre-game festivities kick off with catch in the outfield at 4 p.m. with the all-you-can-eat buffet on the Sky Deck to follow from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The fun-filled day will also feature giveaways and enter-to-win prizes for dad to take home. Individuals and families can now purchase ticket packages that include a game ticket and the cookout.

“This fun and affordable package offers families in the Quad Cities a special day to celebrate fathers and give Dad a memorable afternoon featuring a cookout and baseball game,” said River Bandits owner Dave Heller. “This event combines so much of what people in the Quad Cities can enjoy at Modern Woodmen Park – a gorgeous venue, great hospitality, terrific food, and affordable family-friendly entertainment as we help make Dad feel like a king this Father’s Day.”

Reservations must be made by Monday, June 10, for the package, which includes the cookout and admission to the River Bandits’ 5 p.m. game. Tickets are $20 for each adult and $10 for each child age 10 and younger. The cookout menu features all-you-can-eat hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, chips, cookies, lemonade and water, as well as a cash bar. Participants are welcome to enjoy the game from their seats or from the Sky Deck – a climate-controlled environment with large glass windows that offer spectacular views of the ballpark, downtown Davenport, the Centennial Bridge and the Mississippi River.

“Modern Woodmen Park is a fantastic year-round setting for special events, and the Father's Day Cookout is a terrific part of that lineup,” said General Manager Harold Craw. “The River Bandits are delighted to welcome families in the Quad Cities for another memorable Father’s Day celebration for the whole community..”

As part of another Flat Screen Family Sunday presented by KWQC and B100, fans can enter a drawing to win one of three free 32-inch flat screen TVs given away during the game. All kids will have the opportunity to run the bases after the game, and fans can bring their dogs for Bark in the Park.

UP NEXT: The McGivern's Mega Jewelry Giveaway will be Wednesday, May 22, at the 7 p.m. River Bandits game against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Two fans will also have their bills paid on a Pay Your Bill Wednesday presented by U.S. Bank and Mix96. Single game tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office at Modern Woodmen Park, by phone at 563-324-3000 and online at www.riverbandits.com. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $50. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.]]>rick@rcreader.com (Marco LaNave)Food & DiningWed, 22 May 2013 19:58:51 +0000Too Cute Cupcake Class - This Thursday!http://www.rcreader.com/news-releases/too-cute-cupcake-class-this-thursday/
http://www.rcreader.com/news-releases/too-cute-cupcake-class-this-thursday/UPCOMING ADULT CLASSES

THURSDAY, MAY 23RD 7-9 P.M. $25 per person TOO CUTE CUPCAKES In this hands-on class we will show you how to use all kinds of candy and other edible items to create amazing cupcakes.

THURSDAY, JUNE 13 7-9 P.M. $25 per person COOKING WITH BEER From stew and sauces to desserts we will share recipes that use a variety of beers to enchance the flavor.

UPCOMING KIDS CLASSES

SATURDAY, June 15TH 6:30 -8 p.m. $30 per pair DADDY AND ME Just in time for Father’s Day, this class gives dads and kids some quality time together creating yummy treats.]]>rick@rcreader.com (Laura Prichard)Food & DiningTue, 21 May 2013 18:32:18 +0000